Suspended NBA players union chief Billy Hunter, in his first interview since a scathing assessment of his leadership was released Jan. 17, on Wednesday "passionately defended his record and his reputation, and he indicated that he would not leave without a fight," The New York Times reported.

The newspaper's Howard Beck interviewed Hunter for 65 minutes at his attorney's Newark, N.J., office, where Hunter, though unusually subdued, said, "I intend to exercise all my options, as of this moment."

Hunter, 65, said that he "expected to be paid the balance if he is fired," but acknowledged that his contract "had not been approved by a two-thirds vote of the union's executive committee and board of player representatives, as the (indpendent) audit stated."

Hunter, according to The Times, spent much of the interview rebutting specific allegations raised in the audit, in some cases providing broader context and in other cases dismissing their significance altogether.

“It’s almost like you put enough together, and you throw it up against the wall, hopefully something will stick,” Hunter said. “But when you look at them each individually, we can rebut them.”

NBPA members are expected to discuss, and perhaps even decide, Hunter's fate at their annual meeting over All-Star Weekend, Feb. 15-17, in Houston.

Hunter told The Times he wants to address the players at the annual meeting, but it is not clear whether union president Derek Fisher, who is seeking his ouster, will permit Hunter to attend.

"I assume that between now and then that Derek will be doing everything he can to stack the deck so that they have the appropriate players in place to vote according to their request or plan," Hunter said.

Speculation has been rife that the union already is targeting potential replacements, with former MLB and current NHL players union chief Donald Fehr and acting Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms director B. Todd Jones among those mentioned.